If there is one thing Norfolk State knows how to do, it is win MEAC basketball games in February.
NSU completed a sweep of Morgan State on Sunday with a 68-65 win at Echols on Sunday. The win was the fourth in five games for NSU, which put it in the driver’s seat in the MEAC North.
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Devante Carter led the way with 19 points on Sunday, following a 20-point performance the previous afternoon. Sunday’s win included a comeback from a nine-point deficit early in the second half.
“We showed a lot of resilience coming back from nine points down,” NSU head coach Robert Jones said after the game. “We showed resilience by getting two road wins against the first place team. The players stuck with each other and made winning plays late.”
Devante Carter led the way with 19 points on Sunday, following a 20-point performance the previous afternoon. Sunday’s win included a comeback from a nine-point deficit early in the second half.
“We showed a lot of resilience coming back from nine points down,” NSU head coach Robert Jones said after the game. “We showed resilience by getting two road wins against the first-place team. The players stuck with each other and made winning plays late.”
Delaware State vs. the MEAC North
Norfolk State’s win over Morgan was its’ third in four matchups against the Baltimore squad this season. NSU entered the series coming off a tough loss to a Coppin State team that has beaten it in three of four matchups this year.
With Maryland-Eastern Shore not participating this season, the recently constructed MEAC North was already down one program coming into the season. Howard University’s opt-out last week means that both Morgan State and Coppin State only have two games left, and Norfolk State just one with just half a game separating NSU from its Baltimore foes. And all three teams play one common opponent – Delaware State.
Morgan State will get the first crack at DSU when it makes the back-to-back trip to Dover, DE on Feb. 20 and 21. MSU won both of the first two matchups, one a blowout and one fairly tight.
The Spartans will get their chance to lock up first place in the MEAC North when they host the Hornets on Feb. 24. The game is a makeup for the Feb. 1 game that was postponed due to inclimate weather in Norfolk that weekend. Only the Spartans control their destiny.
Coppin State will be the last to play against DSU in Dover on Feb. 27th and 28th. CSU swept DSU in early January, but it would need DSU to win all three of its preceding games and then it would need to sweep the Hornets.
Every game in the MEAC counts, but with two teams in a six-team division out of the picture, the stakes are even higher in 2021.